Trust and Trustworthiness

In the 1qtr2004 issue of my Not Just Talk! newsletter, I wrote an article entitled, On Building Trust, Rapport, and Respect. Here, now, are some additional thoughts about trust and trustworthiness:

1. Trust is not a given; it must be earned by showing that you are trustworthy - several times.

2. The more you use your formal authority to stifle discussions the less people will trust you.

3. The more you use your formal authority to help others solve problems the more people will trust you.

4. Once earned, people still need to be reminded that you can be trusted - that they haven't been burned by trusting you in the past.

5. How well you make - and keep - commitments will determine how people trust you.

6. How well you solicit - and monitor - commitments made to you by others will determine how people trust you.

Do yourself (and everyone around you) a favor. Commit to becoming more genuinely trustworthy this year.